Growing towards your passions

The Nest is Empty

Taryn is moved into her own apartment and starts her “big girl” job on Monday. She is only four hours away, but the reality is that our lives will never be the same! Our beloved West Highland White “terriorist” (Terrier) made a trip to the vet yesterday. He is fine….the only thing we could figure out is that he is depressed. He doesn’t like to see suitcases anyway. Seeing furniture, boxes and suitcases being moved out over the past three weeks caused him some major anxiety….Trust me, I can feel his pain!

Now that we have Taryn settled and launched we can start focusing on what is next for us as a couple. We won’t have tuition payments or living expenses to pay for Taryn, which will free us up financially a bit. We are fortunate that she will not need us to supplement her living expenses…YAY!

As part of a future plan for the rest of our lives, we all need to get a good vision for what that looks like….what are we doing and with whom, are we traveling more, caring for elderly parents, volunteering more, continuing to work beyond the “normal” retirement age. People are living longer than in generations past. That means we need to rethink work and retirement. Allianz did a study with researchers from Stanford and have a video called “The Gift of Life”. You can view it here:

It raises questions about how baby boomers are redefining their golden years.

After crying my eyes out at the hairdressers and at my office yesterday, we enjoyed dinner out with good friends. A glass of wine, a nice meal and great friends sure helped me to feel better. The good news is that our dog is doing better today. Sleeping with us probably didn’t hurt either. Now we can’t make that a habit….well maybe…..

To those of you going through transitions like we are, I feel your pain. But a good plan, financially and personally, can go a long way to a happy and secure rest of your life!